The Innocence of the Child
by charmony
Summary: LW3 - Aaron, Jack and Emily have a conversation about their relationship as a unit on the way to a day out tobogganing - follow up piece to When You Wish Upon A Star & A Christmas Wish Fulfilled. The final piece of the dance...or is it?


**A/N: Okay, this was totally going to stop at one since I have so much else to write, but you keep looking at me pleadingly and since I don't like to disappoint anyone, I wrote a second. But then there was more pleading and so I am caving in again.**

**BUT THIS IS THE LAST ONE!**

**There won't be any others after this one, though maybe I'll revisit this storyline a year down the track at Christmas to see how they are doing after a year together; or perhaps even IF they are together.**

**Reviews are my bread and butter and the only reason you are getting this third instalment. HGRHfan35, I'm so glad you liked the last one and particularly that you LOLled at the parts I specifically wrote to be funny; hopefully you'll find a whole heap more LOL moments here. Kate, thanks for your lovely comments. Unfortunately you are out of luck on seeing me write Dave and JJ together because I don't ship that way, but here comes more of Aaron and Emily. Also thanks to greengirl82; I will always give you a shout out when you leave such lovely reviews.**

**So as requested, this is the sequel to When You Wish Upon A Star and A Christmas Wish Fulfilled, as requested by the wonderful HGRHfan35.**

**This is a re-post of the original with this little note added; this piece is now the third story of a series I am writing titled Life's Wishes (LW3). I know you can see that I have written that this is the last one, but it really isn't, so stay tuned.**

The Innocence of the Child

She shivered slightly in the cold as she waited, though whether from cold or anticipation, she had no idea. She checked her watch again and smiled slightly as she looked up to see his car pulling into the parking lot of her complex. Despite have a young child, Aaron Hotchner was a stickler for timeliness.

The car pulled up in front of her and he got out, though he left the engine running for the heat in the car as Jack waved to her from the back seat. She waved back and turned to his father as he stopped in front of her.

"What a fine morning this is, don't you think? Perfect weather for tobogganing and the best view of all to enjoy throughout the day."

She ducked her head slightly as she blushed at his words and the approval she could see in his eyes. She hadn't been sure she could find her snow suit and then that uncertainty had mounted when she realised that it had been at least ten years since she'd worn it last; would it even still fit? But she'd had no trouble getting into it, though once zipped up, it had fit more like a glove than she could remember it doing. She'd been thinking about maybe picking something else to wear when she remembered Aaron's smugness at the end of the previous evening and though she hadn't been complaining about the reason, she had decided that she definitely needed to get back a little of her own.

So the snug snowsuit stayed and now that she knew she'd have him on an edge of wanting for the rest of the day, she was content for the moment.

_Phase one complete._

He stepped into her space and kissed her lightly.

_Oh my; who'd have thought something so innocent and short could be packed with so much intimacy?_

"Considering the vast number of questions Jack threw at me this morning, I'm going to keep things light between us today. At least until I get a chance to have a serious discussion with him about what he thinks about my dating you. Is that alright with you?"

She smiled and teased, "So you _are_ thinking of keeping me around longer. I keep waking up and thinking today is the day you'll come to your senses."

He lifted cool hands and cupped her face in them. "I have already come to my senses Emily; they told me to make a move on you and I did. I don't regret that and doubt I ever will."

She felt an uncharacteristic tear slide down her cheek as he oh so gently kissed her temple.

_Be still my heart...or maybe it's not my own anymore. Hmm, pop it in the box for further contemplation at a quieter date._

He gently stroked the tear from her cheek and tipped his head slightly to the side.

"No one has ever really romanced you before, have they?"

She shrugged, suddenly feeling uncomfortably exposed. "I told Derek shortly after we met that I'm a nerd at heart. I wasn't kidding about that. Most guys don't like nerds and the guys that pretended they did only wanted to see if having me in bed with them was worth overlooking that personality trait. My longest relationship lasted a month before he decided I wasn't worth it and ended things between us."

He looked furious for a second, but that quickly melted away as he pulled her closer.

"You'd better keep names of the idiots who dumped you to yourself. I might be a touch grateful to them because it left you open for me to successfully make my move, but I don't look too highly on cretins who only want a bed-warmer and don't care about the lady's feelings."

She blinked at him in surprise. "Did you just use the word 'cretin' in a sentence to describe my ex-boyfriends?"

He nodded and grinned as a reluctant smile curled her lips up. "Yes I did and yes, I did use it deliberately. I needed you to not look so lost and bewildered. Look, yes we'll be taking it slow until I talk to Jack and if it turns out he isn't too sure about me dating you, then we will have to continue to take it slow until he comes around to the idea because he always comes first for me. But if he likes the idea, don't think anything is going to hold me back from showing you what a closet romantic I actually am at heart."

_Maybe there _is_ no _maybe_ about my heart..._

"With talk like that, you'll turn a girls' head."

"As long as yours is the only one turning, I am happy with my days' work. Now, I believe we have some driving to do and my son is getting impatient. Is that yours?"

She looked at what he was pointing at and smiled happily as she nodded, noting the admiration in his eyes. Her toboggan was beautifully crafted of birch and had been waxed to a high sheen for added smoothness on the snow.

"How much did that set you back?"

"I don't actually know. It was a gift from a bunch of friends in college after I won a tobogganing competition for the team with a dingy old plastic one. They got together and decided that if I was going to be that good at it, I should have a proper one to win next year's competition. It was a good move, cause I won the next three for them as well with this board."

"Any chance I can have a run on it?" he asked wistfully as he carefully placed it in the boot with two others.

"On your own? No. But with me? Most definitely."

He looked at her steadily for a long moment and then he grinned. "That's very sneaky, but I like it very much."

She inclined her head with a small smile, glad that he appreciated her efforts to allow them to be close without potentially making Jack unhappy. Her smile grew as he followed her around the car and opened the door for her to climb in.

She turned to say hi to Jack, who promptly asked what was taking so long, so she also apologised for holding them up.

The trip to the hill Aaron mentioned was fun. With a dvd playing in the back of the car on a screen for Jack, it allowed the adults to talk quietly without interruption. It also allowed Aaron to hold her hand like he'd mentioned wanting to do the night before without worrying about Jack noticing because he was engrossed in his show.

They should have known the child was too smart to be fooled.

"Miss Emily?"

She turned in her seat and smiled. "Yes Master Jack?"

"Are you going to date us?"

She almost swallowed her tongue as she shot a look at Aaron, who was calmly reaching up to stop the show, bringing quiet to the car. He shot her a quick look, most of his attention firmly fixed on the road, but she got the feeling that he was encouraging her to be honest with Jack about what she wanted. Knowing how Aaron felt on the subject and realising that she hadn't actually committed to anything despite his promises, she saw she had an opportunity to reassure them both.

_Please let my 'yes' be what he actually wants to hear._

"Would you like it if I did date the two of you? It would mean that I'd be around a lot of the time and it might also mean that I might never leave."

His head slipped to the side as he looked at her. "Would you and daddy make babies by kissing if you stayed with us?"

She coughed hard as she swallowed the wrong way. Aaron reached out to pat her back as he looked at his son in the mirror. "Emily would have to marry us before we'd make babies Jack."

Now Jack was frowning. "But Teesa's mama wasn't married to her little sister's daddy when they had her and now he isn't even around anymore."

_This kid is totally fixated on babies. Oh help me now, someone please._

"And that is _exactly_ why I would want to be married to Emily before I have a baby with her. I wouldn't want her to leave us and take the baby or for her to think that we will leave her when she needs us. Marriage is a commitment, an important one, that needs to be there before babies can even be thought about. Do you understand what that means?"

"I _think_ so. Does it mean you should both get married now, so you can kiss and make lots of babies so I can have brother's and sister's?"

_Oh boy..._

"Aaron, can you pull over for a minute?" she asked in a strangled voice.

_Hurry up, I'm about to lose it._

He did as she asked with a worried look on his face. She couldn't even look at him properly for fear she'd scare everyone if she cracked before she was out of the car. But he got to the side of the road just in time. She slipped out of the car, closed her door firmly behind her and doubled over as she started to laugh uproariously.

Inside the car, Aaron listened to the howling going on outside and felt relief that his son's demands hadn't scared his Emily off. After all, it wouldn't do to lose her now when his heart was already fully involved.

_Whoa buddy...who said anything about hearts? And for that matter, what gives you the right to be thinking about how hot she'd look pregnant with your child growing inside of her. Focus on the here and now._

But he _was_ thinking about Emily and babies and how suddenly he wished his son was anywhere else but here.

"Daddy, is Miss Emily alright? She doesn't sound so good."

_Cold water on the libido...I love my son, I love my son..._

"She's fine buddy." When Jack looked at him sceptically, he added, "She _is_ fine Jack; she's just laughing so hard it sounds like she's in pain, but it isn't that kind of hurt."

His son thought about it for a second before nodding acceptance of his explanation. He clearly wasn't done with the conversation yet though.

"So daddy, will we marry Miss Emily?"

_Oh the joys of parenting._

"Buddy, Emily and I need to be dating first for a while before we even discuss getting married and this was something I was going to talk to you about later. But I'll ask you now; would you like it if Emily was my girlfriend?"

Jack nodded with a serious look on his face. "Mummy and I discussed it in my prayers this morning and I think she'd like Miss Emily a lot."

_I'm winning, so I'll keep to myself that Haley hated Emily on sight because she was gorgeous and spending so much more time with me than her._

"But do you like Emily enough to have her around, maybe for the rest of your life if we do get married one day? To have her be your stepmother?"

_Too much too fast, but suddenly marriage to Emily and babies is entirely too appealing. However, if she asks, I'm blaming Jack._

Jack nodded slowly. "I do really like Miss Emily; she makes me think of sunshine and fun. I'd really like it a lot if she stayed around forever."

_Conversation sorted in the heart of the child. Now it's up to the adults._

Emily suddenly opened the door and climbed back into the car. She was wiping tears from her face as her eyes continued to dance with mirth but she had obviously gotten the main bulk of her hilarity out of her system.

Before she could say anything, Jack piped up, "Daddy and I discussed it and we would really like it very much if you dated us both."

Aaron felt his heart melt at the tender look Emily shot his son.

_Okay, so it's just Emily we need to get sorted out...hmm, didn't see that one coming at all._

"Then I would love to date you both, if you're both sure I'm what you want."

Aaron murmured, "Without a doubt," as Jack nodded his head vigorously and beamed at her.

She looked at them both for a moment and seeing not a single doubt from either of them, she nodded her own head. "Well alright then; looks like we are now officially an item."

Jack cheered and Aaron grinned and turned back to the wheel. Jack asked that his show be turned back on, and Emily enjoyed the rest of the drive as the realisation dawned that she might never be alone again.

_After all, with his son involved, Aaron wouldn't have pushed for me to date him if he weren't deadly serious about me. He's very careful to guard Jack's heart after all he's been through, so he really must have thought a lot about this. Wow, he must _really_ like me a lot...oh god; what if I let him down?_

His hand around hers recalled her to her surroundings and she pushed her fears aside to smile at him as he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it lightly.

_Oh well...at least if I fail later, I can say I was well and truly romanced on the way to it._

End

**A/N: Okay so I know this was supposed to be about a day out tobogganing, but like with a _lot_ of my work, it took on a life of it's own and became about an affirmation of everyone's feelings on the matter of their potential to become a family unit. Sorry to everyone expecting something else entirely.**

**If you liked this one and the other two before it, go to my author page and check out the poll that will be up shortly as it relates to these three pieces.**

**Please review with the conveniently placed button right below this request. **


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